Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-01

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You would like to reduce your working hours in order to study part time.

Write a letter to your boss. In your letter

• explain why you want to reduce your working hours
• say which hours you would like to work
• describe how your part-time studies would benefit your employer

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ....................................,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Madam,

I hope this letter finds in excellent health. I am writing this letter to request you to kindly allow me to for work part time for 3 months as I am planning to a design course in the next month.

To begin with, as discussed earlier about my interest in learning interiors. I finally have enrolled myself for the upcoming course. I firmly believe that it is essential to acquire skillset which not only be beneficial to me but it can be profitable to the company as well.

Therefore, it is my humble request to you to kindly grant my application to work in the first half from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm in the morning, so that I can manage work and do part-time studies of interior designing in the second half of the day.

I assure you that I would be completely responsible for my roles and responsibilities and finished my assigned task before leaving from the office.

I have attached below the details of the course.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I would be looking back to hearing it from you.

Yours faithfully,

Asha Chanchlani

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task: explaining the reason for the request, specifying the desired hours, and describing the benefits to the employer. The tone is appropriate for a formal letter to a manager. However, the development of the third point regarding the benefits to the employer is somewhat brief and could be expanded with more specific details on how interior design skills would add value to your current workplace. Overall, the purpose of the letter is clear, and the reader is left with no doubt about your intentions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical structure with clear paragraphing. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Therefore', and 'I assure you' to guide the reader through your request. While the progression of ideas is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The use of referencing is mostly clear, though the sentence 'I hope this letter finds in excellent health' is a slightly awkward opening. Overall, the information is organised effectively, and the letter is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'enrolled', 'essential', and 'consideration'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'I hope this letter finds in excellent health' (should be 'finds you in') and 'I would be looking back to hearing it from you' (should be 'looking forward to hearing from you'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise collocations related to professional requests.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical slips throughout the text, such as 'allow me to for work' (extra preposition), 'planning to a design course' (missing verb 'take'), and 'it can be profitable' (should be 'it will be'). Additionally, the sentence 'I firmly believe that it is essential to acquire skillset which not only be beneficial to me but it can be profitable' contains errors in article usage and verb tense consistency. These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your message.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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